Communicable disease threats report, 10-16 May 2020, week 20

Publication-15 May 2020

This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 10-16 May 2020 and includes updates on Ebola virus disease, COVID-19 associatd with SARS-CoV-2, influenza season 2019-2020, Ebola virus disease in the Demoratic Republic of the Congo 2018-2020 and influenza A(H9N2).

On 24 March 2017, the German authorities reported the contamination of a ‘do-it-yourself’ bacterial gene engineering CRISPR kit produced in the US. This publication assesses the risk related to the use of ‘do-it-yourself’ CRISPR-associated gene engineering kit contaminated with pathogenic bacteria. test

In the second half of January 2015, WHO reported a significant drop in weekly cases – and the end of the spread of the disease – in all three currently affected countries (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone).

​In November, France and the United Kingdom both reported sporadic cases of neurological disease involving enterovirus 68 (EV-D68) detection. As a result, ECDC has updated its rapid risk assessment on EV-D68, first triggered by reports from North America. To date, European acute flaccid paralysis (AFP)/enhanced enterovirus surveillance has not detected unusual clusters or unexpected trends.